"Nintendo has not had any contact with the Japanese government about generative AI": The Switch maker shoots down rumors, but insists it'll keep fighting "infringement of our intellectual property"

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After rumors the publisher was lobbying the government

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Despite rumors to the contrary, Nintendo has denied lobbying the Japanese government to regulate generative AI but - surprise, surprise - the company that filed a lawsuit against Palworld over its Pokemon similarities says it'll keep taking action against IP infringement.

The rumors first ran wild after Japanese politician Satoshi Asano claimed the console maker was lobbying the government to protect its IP against AI - a claim he's since retracted and apologized for on social media. Satoshi has since deleted his original post due to misinformation. (Thanks, Eurogamer.)

Former Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser didn't exactly rule out using generative AI in game development earlier this year, but encouragingly, he also said the company believes "that what makes our games special is our developers, their artistic capabilities, their insight into how people play, so there's always, always going to be a human touch, and a human engagement in how we develop and build our games."

Both statements line up with what Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said about the subject last year, too: "Generative AI, which has been a hot topic in recent years, can be more creative, but we also recognize that it has issues with intellectual property rights."

Check out the upcoming Switch 2 games to see what's on Nintendo's horizon.

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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